Unitec Vocational Pathway Scholarship

Round 1: Opens 06th September 2025 | Closes 29th October 2025. 

Round 2: Opens 19th November 2025 | Closes 12th February 2026

Eligibility criteria 

To be eligible for the Scholarship, an applicant must meet all of the following criteria:

• be a domestic ākonga, i.e. a New Zealand citizen or Permanent Resident
• have exited secondary school or kura within the last 24 months
• have successfully undertaken at least one vocational pathway programme through the Unitec Pathways College during secondary school or kura.
• be starting in a programme from Level 3 to 7 (certificate, diploma, or undergraduate degree) that takes at least one semester of full-time study to complete. 

How to apply

Complete the online application form. Support is available for ākonga through our Scholarship Advisor. 
Please book an appointment early and prior to the application deadline if you would like to discuss or seek support with your application: https://guides.unitec.ac.nz/scholarships 

As part of your application you will need to respond to the following statements and questions:

• tell us a little about yourself, especially around your goals and achievements, community 
involvement and personal strengths. It would be great to see examples of how you have helped 
communities you belong to or identify with, such as your hāpori, marae, hapū, iwi, church, cultural 
or other community 
• What will you be studying at Unitec in 2026 and what are your career aspirations after you complete 
your study? 
• What motivates you to succeed in your studies?
• How will this scholarship help support you with your studies?
• In what ways do you think your study enables you to make a positive difference in society now 
(immediately) and in the future (long-term)? 
• During the year we have Unitec events for ākonga. These include Māori and Pacific Orientations, 
Whānau/Fanau evenings, Te Wiki o te Reo & Pacific Island language weeks, events for Disabled and 
Neurodiverse ākonga, Ally Network and Under 25 ākonga. Please describe how you can contribute to 
events that connect to your identity. 

If you are a disabled ākonga, sole parent, or ākonga with other carer responsibilities, who is applying to 
study part-time, you will also be asked how does being able to study part-time remove barriers and help you 
to succeed in your goals?

Selection bases and Selection process

Once scholarship applications close, the Scholarships & Mentoring Team (“Team”) check that applicants have:

• completed the online application; and
• applied to study a relevant course at Unitec; and 
• enrolled as a New Zealand citizen or Permanent Resident; and
• exited school or kura within the last 24 months and successfully undertaken at least one vocational 
pathway programme through the Unitec Pathways College

The Team send all eligible applications out to the Scholarship Selection Committee for review. 
The number of scholarships awarded varies and is dependent on available funding. 

What happens after selection

The Scholarships & Mentoring team are the kaitiakitanga of the scholarships process. They will:

• let ākonga know scholarship application outcomes
• check enrolments at week three of the semester as the final eligibility check
• set up the first payments – to be made to ākonga in week six or eight of semester 1
• manage ongoing eligibility checks, mentoring opportunities, and second payments 

Ongoing eligibility

Academic progress: ākonga who are awarded the scholarship are expected to achieve Pass grades for all courses, unless exceptional circumstances prevail. 
Ākonga who fail one or more courses will be assisted by the Scholarships & Mentoring team to explain their circumstances via a breach appeals process.
Appeals are considered by the awarding scholarship selection committee. The Committee will decide whether to terminate or maintain the scholarship, and will also provide academic assistance, wherever possible, to support the ākonga. 
Unitec Enrolment: ākonga are expected to maintain their enrolment status, i.e. be enrolled full-time 
(minimum of 60 credits) per semester, or part-time as stipulated when their scholarship was awarded. 

Termination of a scholarship

Your scholarship terminates if:
• you withdraw from the Unitec course/programme after the start of the programme
• you cease to meet the eligibility criteria; 
• you breach the academic and enrolment eligibility requirements and don’t successfully appeal; or
• Unitec determines that you are guilty of misconduct and after consultation, deems that it is not 
appropriate for you to continue to hold the Scholarship.

If Unitec terminates the Recipient’s Scholarship for any of the above reasons, after the start of 
Semester 1 or 2, Unitec may require any Scholarship payment(s) already made to be reimbursed to Unitec.

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